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AEP Index

Volume 4, Number 5, 1999

Perry, J. "Percutaneous Injuries in Anesthesia Personnel: Results of a Multicenter Prospective Study" (pp. 49,56-57). Discusses findings from article published in a 1998 issue of the journal Anesthesiology on needlestick injuries in anesthesia personnel. Data showed that a typical contaminated percutaneous injury (CPI) in the anesthesia setting was from a blood-contaminated hollow-bore needle used for intravascular catheter insertion; 73% of CPIs occurred in the operating room and 80% involved a resident or attending physician. Thirty percent of CPIs fell into the "high risk" category.

AEP Now Offers CEU/CME Credit (p. 50).

Shiao, J. "Sharps Injuries Among Health Care Workers in Taiwan" (pp. 51-53). The author, together with colleagues, conducted the first nationwide cross-sectional survey on sharps injuries among Taiwanese health care workers, from July 1996 through June 1998. The results are summarized here, together with pertinent background information about HIV, HBV and HCV incidence in Taiwan and the overall health care environment. Researchers found that 81.8% of sharps injuries were not reported, and that recapping was the most frequently reported cause of needlesticks.